Eight Stories

Tales of War and Loss

By: Erich Maria Remarque, Larry Wolff - introduction, Maria Tatar - introduction

Narrated by: Andrew Garman

German-American novelist Erich Maria Remarque captured the emotional anguish of a generation in his World War I masterpiece, All Quiet on the Western Front, as well as in an impressive selection of novels, plays, and short stories. This exquisite collection revives Remarque’s unforgettable voice, presenting a series of short stories that have long ago faded from public memory. From the haunting description of an abandoned battlefield to the pain of losing a loved one in the war to soldiers’ struggles with what we now recognize as PTSD, the stories offer an unflinching glimpse into the physical, emotional, and even spiritual implications of World War I. In this collection, we follow the trials of naïve war widow Annette Stoll, reflect on the power of small acts of kindness toward a dying soldier, and join Johann Bartok, a weary prisoner of war, in his struggle to reunite with his wife.

Although a century has passed since the end of the Great War, Remarque’s writing offers a timeless reflection on the many costs of war. Eight Stories offers a beautiful tribute to the pain that war inflicts on soldiers and civilians alike, and resurrects the work of a master author whose legacy - like the war itself - will endure for generations to come.

©2018 New York University (P)2018 Recorded Books

One of the finest German writers of mid-sentury

The 1st world war and post-war years from the German perspective. Remarque continues the theme started in All Quiet om Western Front. The book includes biographical essay about the writer. Exceptionally well-read, with measured emotion.

Shorter works from the masterful author of All Quiet on the Western Front

I have loved every one of Remarque's works, whether novel or short story, He has a way with words, painting reality with vivid descriptions and gut-wrenching honesty that somehow still comes out in sensitivity and beauty. Happy endings? No. But even if Remarque himself renounced his German identity, his stories retain that element so typical of German literature.

One might feel that the introduction is rather long. Of course, it allows the reader/listener to get to know a little more about Remarque as a person, and some background on each of the eight stories. If a listener wanted to skip past that, they easily could, but might miss some of the depth of the stories.

Published in Colliers Magazine in the 1930s, the stories themselves are short and worth listening to a second time. Feel the experience and suffering of the survivors of the first world war and those who loved them. Understand a conflict from the perspective of those who, at the time, were considered "the enemy." Many of the sufferings described were common on both sides of No Man's Land.

A glimpse into the past.

Well performed and great writing. Insight into the shattered minds of a few soldiers who survived The Great War. highly reccomended.